JapanAxe Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 (edited) Strictly NAW (week) as I picked this up from @essexbasscat the previous weekend. It has also belonged to @krispn - not the first time I have owned stuff after him, the guy obviously has great taste! The amp in question is a Fender TB600 head, which combines a valve preamp and overdrive stage with a chunky Class AB output section in a 2U rack format. I have had a hankering for one of these on-and-off for a while, so when the stars aligned I went for it. My first go with it through my BF Super Twin was not very auspicious as there was a bit of a crackle and when I switched it on the second time it went dead. This last was user error - on close inspection, the amp has a rated power consumption of 900W, which at 240V mains equates to a current draw of nearly 4A. A toroidal transformer (which this amp has) also draws a high inrush current, so no wonder! As well as fitting a higher rated fuse in the mains lead in place of the 3A, I decided to give the amp a quick service. The innards are easily accessible once the top cover is removed, allowing me to remove and test both 12AX7 valves (Groove Tubes badged, Russian made, original fitment and still good) and treat all the pots, sockets and switches with switch cleaner. No more crackle after that! I also spotted an intact 10A fuse on the power inlet board which reassured me that there wasn't likely to be a troublesome short circuit somewhere. I also replaced the bolts securing one of the front grab handles as it had taken a knock at some time and they had been bent. None of this should be taken as criticism of the seller - it's an 18-year-old amp and some maintenance is inevitably going to be required. The preamp tone controls are passive, so they have enough range to set your desired sound but not enough to create unusable extremes. The Vari-Q will notch out a narrow band of frequencies or add a subtle hump of mid boost; the Room control is a tilt EQ. It's all very well thought out. In the living room all my basses sound great, with plenty of top end when required, even through my tweeterless cab. Down to business with the first of 2 rock'n'roll gigs this weekend gone. My weapon of choice was an AVRI '63 Precision. You know when you're just enjoying listening to the sound that you're making? It was one of those. Afterwards Mrs Axe said to me, 'Your bass was quite loud tonight you know.' Yes. Yes it was. I had a strong impression of power being delivered effortlessly on demand. The core tone is solid, fat and round, just as I like - there's definitely some heft going on! On the second gig I hd an issue with booming, but it was the PA, not my bass rig. Once sorted it was again a pleasure to play. Pic below is from the sale ad but I'll try to furnish some Fender/BF combo p0rn in due course. Edited September 16 by JapanAxe 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 Very well written and it’s the type of head people ‘tone chase’ a lifetime for (especially with a p bass). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 (edited) I always fancied trying once of those heads but never saw them in the shops to try. Just looked like a really solid, well thought out amp. Definitely Fender's attempt at providing competition to the Ampeg SVT Pro and Mesa M-pulse lines which were doing well (at least in the USA) around about the mid/late 2000s. Edited September 17 by thodrik 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted September 16 Author Share Posted September 16 Ooh, I forgot to include this link to a detailed review with excellent photos by our very own @disssa - you will need Google translate unless you are fluent in German. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 It’s fun once you start to blend int he drive section. All that pleasing fat fundament robe just gets a wee lift from adding a touch of gain. It’ll go heavier but that ‘finishing touch’ which a wee nudge of drive can offer is tone heaven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted September 16 Author Share Posted September 16 7 minutes ago, krispn said: It’s fun once you start to blend int he drive section. All that pleasing fat fundament robe just gets a wee lift from adding a touch of gain. It’ll go heavier but that ‘finishing touch’ which a wee nudge of drive can offer is tone heaven. Yes I had a little go with it at home but haven't tried it on a gig yet. I do like to mix in a little bit of 'fur' - it's less obvious as 'distortion' in a live mix, but it does help to colour the sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted September 16 Share Posted September 16 Quite surprised to hear about the crackle, I never gigged the amp during my ownership but tested it in a studio a few months ago before posted the ad, all seemed ok at the time and I advertised it in good faith. I always give full disclosure about the equipment I sell, if there's any problems I try my best to sort things out. That being said, I'm glad you're happy with the sound Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted September 17 Author Share Posted September 17 16 hours ago, essexbasscat said: Quite surprised to hear about the crackle, I never gigged the amp during my ownership but tested it in a studio a few months ago before posted the ad, all seemed ok at the time and I advertised it in good faith. I always give full disclosure about the equipment I sell, if there's any problems I try my best to sort things out. That being said, I'm glad you're happy with the sound No complaints here at all Tom, with either the amp or your ad. Might have been a pot or socket but or even the lead from my bass, but quickly disappeared. I've had the same when I haven't used an amp for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted November 10 Author Share Posted November 10 Another gig with this amp last night. The stage was a decent size but very enclosed, causing a bit of bottom-end bloat - a small tweak of the Room EQ control instantly sorted it. The passive controls are quite subtle but the Room EQ is very effective. Also enjoying playing with a bit of dirt in the sound - not obviously distorted, just colourful. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted November 11 Author Share Posted November 11 (edited) Ready for action last Saturday. I apologise on behalf of my bandmates for their music stands. Obviously I don't use one... Edited November 11 by JapanAxe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted November 11 Share Posted November 11 Tidy. This setting is where the fender shines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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